Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Today I want to bring you a nice spring time outfit of the day centered around this skirt:

It was an Ebay bargain, originally from ASOS which I bought for a small sum of under £15! I am in love with the petal detailing on the sides (not pockets) and thought it would be perfect for a floral, blossomy outfit.I paired it with a nice purple, pink and black floral blouse from George At Asda, a rose gold spiked necklace from Primark and a nice rose gold bow belt also from George At Asda.It was such a beautiful day I just had to run out to my local park and take some pictures for you guys. I feel the blossom on the tree works well with the white parts of the blouse.

I kept my makeup minimal as it is quite a statement outfits but paired with a nice coat of Mac's Sunny Seoul, I wanted the print and accessories to do the talking.

The skirt is lovely and flowing, but fitted at the waist so the pleats sit well.

I couldn't help but do a bit of swishing

Ok maybe quite a lot of swishing!

I am also really pleased with how well my new camera has been performing, do you guys notice a difference in picture quality?

I hope you all don't mind this picture heavy post, I was so pleased with how they came out I couldn't help but share them all. Hopefully I will be doing more outdoorsy pictures as the lighting is so much better and the backgrounds are far more exciting than my garden!

What do you think of my outfit/pictures? Let me know below in the comments, would love any feedback as at the moment the blog is really developing and I want you guys to be a part of that!As always, thanks for reading and speak soon!Love Sally X

Sunday, 27 April 2014

How has your week been? Amen to the 4 day week, that's all I'm saying!!

Today I'm bringing you an outfit of the day featuring this beautiful Bird Printed Doll Dress I purchased from Simply Be. I'm going to pair it with two different jackets to show how you can dress it up or down but still have a really pretty look.

So this is what the dress looks like on it's own without any cardigans/jackets.

The sleeves are just the right length and for someone as paranoid about their arms as me this is so important. I'm tired of having to wear a plain black long sleeve top underneath, it ruins the look!

The dress is relatively short compared to the styles I usually wear, but I like it! The skirt part has a slight dipped hem so gives a bit of extra fabric to cover your backside, as you can see I wore it with tights and was absolutely fine.

I would say the dress is true to size and fitted me perfectly, I like how it nips in at the waist and gives a great feminine shape.

For my first look I have paired it with the holy grail pink PU biker jacket, also from Simply Be.

I think this look is really girly and great for spring. The colour of the jacket perfectly compliments the colours in the bird print and I thought the backdrop in this picture was good as the fallen petals almost look like feathers.

Next up is a more casual look with my denim parka coat also from Simply Be.

The coat is nice and lightweight so will see me into summer for the festival season.

I can totally see me wearing this at reading festival with a nice pair of pink wellies.

What do you think of my outfits? Let me know below in the comments!You will be excited to know I have been having fun with my new camera, I already have a couple of upcoming outfit posts scheduled I think you're going to love so keep a look out next week!Thanks for reading and your continued support, I have had some really sweet emails this week from you guys which I really appreciate and love reading :). If any of you want to get in touch with feedback or just for a chat my email is sallywills@live.co.uk, I will always respond and I'd love to hear from you!Speak soon.Love Sally X

Monday, 21 April 2014

Hope you have all had an amazing bank holiday, sorry I've been a bit quiet. Today I am going to bring you an outfit of the day that I absolutely love, everything is from Simply Be which wasn't intentional, I promise, and definitely not in any way sponsored (just to make that clear).

So me and Charlotte met up for another mini adventure, this time going to Forty Hall in Enfield which is a big stately home with nice grounds that we could explore. I have to say that I absolutely love our little trips taking photos and just chatting about anything and everything, funnily enough (and in keeping with the running theme of this post) we met at a Simply Be event and have been chatting ever since. It really is the friends you make that are the best parts of blogging.

This jacket has definitely been doing the rounds with the plus size bloggers at the moment, most notably on the lovely Nancy's post. It's an absolute corker really, beautiful colour, lovely quilting detail and with zipped pockets to stash my phone and chewing gum in. It's a winner.

I would say the picture above has the the colour looking truest to real life, it's almost verging on peach and is such a nice colour.

I really like the rose gold shoes below too, I went for the wide fitting which I probably didn't need so they are a bit roomy but comfy. I am really digging rose gold accessories at the moment, I have a Sam Edelman bag I need to review and various jewellery bits I have to show you (bare with me on those).

And here's one last picture of me messing around, being the true professional as always!

I had a really fun day out and I hope you like the pics/outfit. Be sure to check out Charlotte's post from the day which you can view here: LINK she features a really cute Boohoo jacket I was lusting over!

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Today I am going to be sharing with you my entry to the La Redoute blogger competition, it's super exciting with amazing prizes at stake and I couldn't resist giving it a go.

The guys at La Redoute have recently created a Secrets To French Style guide which is made up of 7 key looks that are very typical of the chic French style that we all know and love and it gives you the option to buy or share the looks using the #FrenchStyle tag. It's definitely worth checking out, I love the inspirational fashion quotes on each slide!

So back to the competition, all you need to do to enter is to share your best style tip. Now I had to give this a lot of thought, as a fashion blogger where would you even start right?!

After much deliberation and discussion with my fellow bloggers and friends, I have chosen to go with one simple word that I would say is the best advice I can give to make an outfit look instantly better.

SMILE.

Now let me explain. For me, style is not just about the clothes you are wearing, it is the confidence you wear them with. That's what sells your outfit and your personality to the world and how people make an impression of you. We all have that one item that we can put on and just feel a million dollars, the colour might set off your eyes or hair perfectly, the fit might be amazing and flatter your curves in the best possible way or it could have a fun print that reflects your personality spot on. But sure as hell, when you wear that item you feel confident, happy and you smile when you wear it, you can't help it.

So how do you go about finding these miracle items? Well here are a few suggestions!

1. Take a selection of clothes into a changing room to try on and get each in 3 sizes, your own size and one size either side. Get a feel for the fit, the texture of the fabric, how the colour looks against your skintone. Never buy something that doesn't make you feel at least better than you did in the outfit you wore in to the shop. Go for the best fit, don't take any notice of the size number, sizing is so inconsistent across different shops odds are you will need a different size anyway.

You might find multiple gems in one trip or you might find none, but when you do find one you instantly know. Your posture changes and can't help but beam out a smile.

2. Don't always play it safe, we all have our individual preferences on what we like to wear (me included) but when you step outside your comfort zone you can be pleasantly surpised! A baby pink PU biker jacket isn't something I would normally wear at all, but look below, it looks great when it's on and I love it!

3. Play around with accessories, it's about bringing the full look together, all the individual pieces should work together and compliment each other.

4. And finally, if in doubt get a second opinion, sometimes other people see things that you just miss, I know I can often be my own harshest critic! So I ask people I trust on what they think, the dress below was something I bought on a bit of a whim and wasn't 100% sure on but I've had so many compliments on it and people asking where I got it that it's made it a go to outfit for me.

I hope these pointers help and don't get too hung up on style rules, at the end of the day fashion is a form of self expression so have fun with it! As long as you have confidence in what you wear that will always shine through.

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Today I am going to be sharing with you my insane experience of meeting /interviewing a member of one of my favourite 90's bands (Atomic Kitten) , the lovely Liz McClarnon!

I was kindly contacted by the PR folk at Fashion World (same guys that arranged the Claire Richards event) and was offered the chance to have a one on one interview with Liz to speak about her gorgeous new swimwear range. I think I was actually shaking when I read the email, putting all nerves aside I knew I had to say yes and quickly made the arrangements before I could chicken out.

The interview took place at the prestigious 45 Park Lane Hotel by Marble Arch where Liz was waiting for me in a huge suite room with samples of her collection dotted around for us to browse and take a look at. As you can see from the picture above I was making a beeline to the window to look at a certain flamingo bikini, but more on that later!

So, I nervously took my seat next to Liz on the sofa, not fully knowing what to expect, but she was so welcoming and warm I instantly felt at ease and conversation just flowed naturally. I chose not to film the interview like some of the other girls just because it would make me even more nervous, but in a way I'm glad I didn't as it made it much more like a relaxed conversation with me asking important questions but at the same time getting to know Liz more and just having fun.

The first burning question I had for her was why she chose Fashion World and to do a plus size collection, I have to say it was a pleasant surprise when I found out about the collaboration but have been dying to know how it came about. She said that her family are all fans of Fashion World so she already knew of the brand and when they contacted her with ideas she was really excited by the opportunity. She chose swimwear because there are so few options out there for cute, classy designs in such a variety of sizes (8-32), which is completely spot on and that's speaking from my experience.

I talked to Liz at length about the design process, it's amazing how much work went into designing the collection and she was very hands on and heavily involved in every step of the process. It took a year from the initial idea to the launch of the range and she also has lingerie and lounge wear ranges due for release in July which I can't wait to see.

I asked her what her personal favourite pieces were from the range and she said she loves the cherry swimsuit above and also the daisy print bikini but would absolutely wear any of the pieces on the beach which she plans to do.

My favourite piece would have to be the flamingo print swimsuit below. I absolutely love the cute print, but the piece itself is also a great quality fabric with removable straps meaning you can wear it as a bandeau and avoid tan lines and the legs aren't cut too high giving a more flattering fit. Perfection!

Needless to say I have already got one on the way and will do a review shortly!

The full range had a fun 50's vibe and consists of 3 styles, a bikini, a swimsuit and a swim dress in 3 funky designs, flamingo print, cherry print and daisy print. There are also 3 pretty kaftans that you can wear with the pieces to compliment the shapes but offer a little bit more coverage.

Liz's aim was to create a collection that is not only stylish and fun, but one that ensures its wearer feels confident on the beach. As far as I am concerned, mission accomplished!

Overall I had the most incredible time meeting Liz and getting to see the collection in person and am so grateful to Fashion World for the opportunity.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it and be sure to check out the collection on this link!